Chophouse Row is the last phase of a multiyear redevelopment of a cluster of properties in the Pike-Pine neighborhood of Seattle. Completed in spring 2015, Chophouse Row is a small-scale, mixed-use project that includes 25,317 square feet of office space, 6,379 square feet of retail space, and three penthouse apartments totaling 4,795 square feet; total gross building area is 43,543 square feet. The development includes a mix of vintage and modern structures, a pedestrian alley/mews that provides a walk-through connection from 12th to 11th Avenue, and a courtyard and pedestrian plaza at the center of the block that ties together Chophouse Row and the other properties on the block.
Denver Union Station is a large-scale mixed-use development—including office, residential, retail, hotel, and transit uses—in downtown Denver. The project has been a transformative effort for downtown Denver and for the larger region. The redevelopment of Denver Union Station turned a vacant parcel of land and an underused old train station into a progressive urban redevelopment that is an exemplary model for cities and transit systems worldwide. The project has also established a new district and center of gravity within downtown Denver. The project involved a public/private partnership among private developers and various public agencies including city, county, state, and federal entities.
Swedbank Headquarters is a 38,640-square-meter green and sustainable office building that serves as the international headquarters for Swedbank, a financial services firm based in Sweden. Located in Sundbyberg, a suburb of Stockholm, the building is designed in a triple-V shape, which incorporates five atriums that create gathering places and bring light into the interior. The building has been designed to encourage collaboration among workers, and includes a restaurant and café, a gym, an auditorium, and rooftop decks.
Les Docks Village is a new lifestyle and urban retail center, located in the waterfront district of Marseille, that was developed by Constructa Urban Systems for owner JP Morgan Asset Management. The project involved the rehabilitation of the 15,000 square meters on the ground floor of Les Docks, an 80,000-square-meter office building originally built as a warehouse in 1857. The new design for the lower-level Les Docks Village retail area provides light, transparency, nature, and new color around 60 shops and restaurants arranged around four courtyards connected by an interior passageway that runs through this very long building. The upper floors were restored in an earlier renovation, and this ground-level redevelopment opened the building to the public with a festive and convivial atmosphere.
For nearly 60 years, the RAND Corporation had occupied about one-third of Santa Monica’s 45-acre (18 ha) civic center district, a prominent site adjacent to the city’s business and government centers, served by a variety of regional transportation options, and on the land side of the coastal highway. Its headquarters building at 1700 Main Street had grown over the years to include two primary buildings as well as several modular ad hoc structures. But by the mid-1980s, RAND’s need for more space and the city’s vision of a revitalized civic district incorporating affordable and market-rate housing, neighborhood retail, and new public parks had begun to converge.
In 1989, the two parties began to explore innovative ways to meet their convergent needs. Following a process that included extensive interaction with the public and a citywide vote, it was agreed that RAND would retain a 3.7-acre (1.5 ha) parcel for a new headquarters building and sell the bulk of its property to the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency. In late 1999, RAND sold 11.7 acres (4.7 ha) to the agency for $53 million, with the proviso that it could occupy its old building for up to six more years. In October 2000, following a yearlong entitlement process, a development agreement for RAND’s new headquarters was approved. Construction began in July 2002, occupancy commenced in October 2004, and the old headquarters building was demolished—and the land turned over to the municipal agency—in 2007.
Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood was a primarily industrial area in the late 1990s when Vulcan Inc., a real estate development company owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, envisioned working with the city and the community to redevelop the nearly 60 acres (24 ha) it owned there into a vibrant, sustainable, and pedestrian-oriented urban center. The opening of Vulcan’s flagship 2200 project in November 2006 represents another milestone in South Lake Union’s rapid transformation into a diverse and thriving urban community.
Occupying an entire city block—nearly 2.5 acres (1.0 ha)—at the gateway to South Lake Union, a neighborhood that lies on Lake Union just north of Seattle’s central business district, 2200 represents one of the largest mixed-use developments in downtown Seattle. The $226 million, 455,500-square-foot (42,317 m2) project features 261 condominiums, a 160-room Pan Pacific luxury hotel, a Whole Foods Market, a variety of shops and restaurants, and distinctive works of art. The South Lake Union line of the Seattle Streetcar, which is expected to begin operations in late 2007, will stop directly in front of 2200.
In just a dozen years, Daniel Island, a 4,000-acre (1,619 ha) site at the northern end of Charleston Harbor has been transformed from a private hunting retreat to a master-planned community. In the process, it has become an important center for the region and a national model for smart growth.
At the project’s inception in 1995, the region’s newly opened I-526 beltway passed through Daniel Island, presenting a unique suburban infill opportunity that would enable the city to grow without contributing to sprawl. On its way to becoming a small town—the community is 50 percent complete as of early 2007—Daniel Island already has nearly 2,000 residences and a town center with shops, restaurants, and other conveniences; extensive recreation amenities; and many businesses, schools, churches, and two professional sports facilities. At buildout in 2015, the community is expected to contain approximately 6,000 residences and 3 million square feet (278,709 m2) of commercial space.
In 2012, the first of a planned network of 28 “cycle superhighways” opened in Copenhagen, with a second route opening in 2013. These upgraded bike paths connect the central city with suburban areas and link residential neighborhoods, schools, and business districts.
The cycle superhighways were planned to meet the needs of commuters in outlying parts of the Copenhagen region by creating long-distance routes with consistent, high-quality design standards. The project is intended to entice thousands of daily commuters to switch from driving to bicycling, thereby decreasing traffic congestion, carbon emissions, and health care costs, while increasing the quality of life of area residents.
Westwood Residences is a bicycle-themed multifamily housing development in Singapore that is slated to open in 2018. Bike-friendly features are being included to help differentiate the project from other developments on the market. The unit prices will be subsidized by the government, and the units will be more financially accessible than some comparable apartments. This development functions in the context of a larger move towards a more bike-friendly culture in Singapore. Westwood Residences will be located near a new and growing network of trails that will allow residents to easily bike to work in a growing shift towards biking in Singapore.
In Spring 2015, construction began on two cycle superhighways that will connect central London and outlying areas of the capital with bicycling routes that are largely physically segregated from motor vehicle traffic. Also known as “Crossrail for Bikes,” a name evoking the east–west commuter rail line that is being built underneath central London, the new cycle routes are meant to be used as alternatives to driving or taking public transportation.
In addition to road safety benefits and an increase in the proportion of bicycle commuters, the £160 million (US$240 million) investment in the creation of the cycle superhighways is spurring new residential and commercial development along the routes.
